More cracks appear in the system

Well not so much appear as it becoming more difficult to keep looking the other way.

"Last year more than 400,000 exam papers were challenged, with more than 77,000 grades being changed."

That's 19% of those questioned. My school used to request remarks only for those students who were 2-3 marks away from the next grade boundary up depending on if we could afford it, maths used to put loads of remarks in as they were given the most money to pay for better results as their results affected the school more than my subject (science).

If the marks went down then those students were far enough into the grade for it not to drop them a grade they went from high to middle or maybe low, but still in the grade. Presumably those at the bottom end of the boundary would have around a 19% chance of going down, but of course no-one is going to question scraping into the next grade up.

A friend of mine questioned one of her daughters gcse exams a couple of years ago, on the re-mark, the overall grade went from an E to A*, they neglected to add all the marks to the spreadsheet apparently.

Which just underlines the problem, it is possible to buy better grades for some students.

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It's a game rather than a transaction but league-wise it's proven sufficiently profitable over a sufficient number of rounds for some schools to delude themselves that they are entitled to a particular proportion of appeals in their favour.

it's proven sufficiently profitable over a sufficient number of rounds for some schools to delude themselves that they are entitled to a particular proportion of appeals in their favour.

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The 19% figure overall seems quite low compared to my subject where our success rate was closer to 1/3rd, then again we had less money to spend and so had to target more closely.

However the point is that the system should be sufficiently trustworthy so as not to require paid-for remarks. I wonder when these started? and why they started, do the exam boards see them as just another income top-up opportunity?

I am sure that you do not believe there should be a relationship between your outcome and King's figure but you can see how casual comparative language could suggest that one exists. The HHC assume the relationship.

I am sure that you do not believe there should be a relationship between your outcome and King's figure but you can see how casual comparative language could suggest that one exists. The HHC assume the relationship.

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I was assuming a little greater understanding on the part of the reader, oh well.

It did it for level descriptors, but there is very little between each grade - the factors that can affect movement from one grade to the next could be as little as hay fever, a single badly marked question, a poor night's sleep, salty food and dehydration and a whole bunch of other things. The main thing is that there is very little between grades. You can't appeal hay fever, but you can an examiner.

There being very close grades would not really matter if the difference between one grade and another were not HIGH STAKES. Headteachers' jobs, people's pay rises, places at FE, sixth form and university, floor targets etc are all loaded onto this ludicrously thin gossamer of a grade descriptor.

Just like schools and Good/Outstanding and Good/RI the stakes on the border are artificially high.

Schools, students, all of them. There needs to be a big enough difference between one grade and the other.

I was assuming a little greater understanding on the part of the reader, oh well.

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You would often be right to do so but why did you make the comparison at all? I can't assume your motive but in my experience many other people assume that proportions in the data immediate to them should communicate through all subsets of the set in which their data exists.

but in my experience many other people assume that proportions in the data immediate to them should communicate through all subsets of the set in which their data exists.

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Eh? My point was that it implies that many remarks are probably more speculative than ours, hence the proportion is different.

A greater number of speculative remarks will cost more but ultimately deliver more improved grades, we have a system where it possible that schools and hence all of the things that Mr. Media mentions can be improved by payments to exam boards if you have enough in the kitty. A broken system.

A greater number of speculative remarks will cost more but ultimately deliver more improved grades

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Well, it will ensure that papers are more rigorously graded which is not necessarily going to result in an increase in higher grades. There will ultimately be additional costs. Were I the HHC I should have kept quiet.

What a peculiar conclusion. You think a system that is so unreliable is one to have confidence in?

If it was reliable the change in grades would be much less than 19%. There is much noise affecting performance on the day but marking of the script produced on the day should be more consistent than this.

I assume that you had a measure of confidence in the system such that you would not challenge A*s nor challenge expected Gs. The contrary would be peculiar.

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I'm not saying it should (or could) be expected to be perfect. Over the years I have seen the challenge of marking go from an extremely rare event to a yearly ritual, from something that only particularly pushy parents would do to something budgeted for by the school in advance. That wouldn't have happened if it wasn't worth it. I still have my suspicions that it may also be another useful income stream by the boards at an otherwise quiet time of year.

If a school is this far out in estimating (and that's estimating) grades and levels, there is a whole world of poopy stuff to go through. Organizations that tout themselves as being approved to make such absolute measures should be far, far better at internal consistency. After all, budgets, schools, careers, university places and more depend on it.

We're not even talking about year to year consistency here but internal consistency following the same mark scheme for the same exam within a few weeks.